Animal welfare protection

Reporting animal abuse or neglect

Animal welfare inspections are conducted when there is a suspected violation of the Animal Welfare Act. Anyone who suspects animal abuse or neglect can file an animal welfare report. To file a report, you must first find out the exact address of where the animal is held and the name of the owner or carer.

If you suspect a violation in the Animal Welfare Act, contact the supervising veterinarian (8-16 on weekdays). For emergencies outside of office hours, contact the police or the on-call municipal veterinarian.

Directions for reporting animal abuse

To report a case of suspected animal abuse or neglect, email elainlaakarit@pirkkala.fi with the following information:

What animal is in question and what has happened, in as much detail as possible
How you found out about the suffering animal
Your name (this, or any other information about you, will not be given to the suspect)
Your phone number (in case we need more information)
Your email address
Who you are reporting (the owner or carer of the animal)
The address and postal area of the person you are reporting. We cannot react to reports without an exact address.

We do not process reports with missing information.

The information of a person reporting animal abuse is confidential and will never be given to the person they are reporting.

Legislation

The objective of the Animal Welfare Act is to protect animals from pain, suffering and distress. The Act also aims to improve animal welfare and the treatment of animals.

Animal welfare authorities

The authorities responsible for controlling animal welfare include municipal veterinarians, municipal health protection control officers, and the police. Various volunteer-run animal welfare organisations also participate in animal welfare control, although they do not have the official authority to conduct inspections.

Inspections

Animal welfare inspections are mainly conducted without prior notice in cases of suspected animal welfare violations. The information of the person reporting suspected animal abuse will not be given to the suspect.

According to law, animal welfare inspections are conducted regularly to places where animals are kept professionally (i.e. kennels, horse-riding schools, animal care centres), even when there is no reason to suspect animal abuse.

Dairy farms are subject to regular hygiene inspections, during which the welfare of animals is also inspected. Animal transportation, animal shows and competitions, and circuses are also subject to animal welfare control.

Barking dogs or other environmental disturbances are mainly not counted as cases of animal welfare, and are not subject to the Animal Welfare Act. It is encouraged to attempt to resolve these issue with the person causing the disturbance (and possibly with your housing corporation). You can also alert the police if public order laws are being broken.

More information on animal welfare control can be found on the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry website.

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